Whirligig

The quote refers to the theme because it explains how it is impossible to find happiness without going on a journey to face what you’re trying to avoid, which in Brent’s case is self-forgiveness and/or acceptance.

Bumper Sticker #3: Forgiveness/Restorative Justice

TEXT TO WORLD

Forgiveness/restorative justice is the theme that refers to Brent not only suiting Ms. Zamora’s wish of keeping whirligig memorials of her daughter, but saving Brent’s life as well – he forgave his old self and made way for new, as a completely different (and better) person.

This quote reminds me of all the wars going on in our world and though it may not seem like it’s affecting us too much, it still shows how powerless we are towards all of the scary things we could experience at any moment. Like in the case of the Puerto Rican man, there is constant fighting in his life (from his job to his family), but though our world really is terrifying, there’s luckily still some places where we do get along, where there is peace.

Bumper Sticker #1: Interconnectedness

“He knew he hadn’t let out this fact before, not to his parents or the police or the psychologists.” (pg. 128)

TEXT TO TEXT

When seeing this quote, I thought of the movie/book "The Wedding Guest", (short summary), the girl who ran away from the hospital influenced the mans life with her positive attitude, made him into a better person than who he started out as.

Interconnectedness defines how everyone/everything is connected by their choice of actions. For example how Jennifer’s grandmother saw Brent’s whirligig - it affected her in that it was like a personal reminder to stay happy, even in the worst times. This connects her to Brent, Briana, Chaz, etc. because they were all involved in Brent’s temper, which caused the accident (that then lead him to making whirligigs).

This quote refers to how the author, whom he met in Maine influenced his decision on admitting what had really happened when he took Lea’s life. After speaking to the woman for only a few hours without ever finding out her name, he told her that the reason he was driving while intoxicated was that it was a suicide attempt. It was difficult for him to tell that to anyone else, even those he knew his whole life, so when he finally spoke of it, that became a huge step towards finally forgiving himself and completing his journey of finding his “new self”.

The quote refers to the theme in that it explains how it’s impossible for us to live completely by ourselves, each of us is connected to someone in some way by an invisible strand with the actions we take.

Bumper Sticker #2: Journey

This shows the way the author affected Brent for the better when he admitted to her what he was really doing during the accident

The theme of journey happens throughout the whole book, Brent goes on both a figurative and real-life journey of acceptance with his past – what had happened to Lea. When he took the journey, he didn’t realize where it was leading him, he was ‘lost’ in the way that he couldn’t take what he had done, but in the end, he “…was ready to face his old world as the new Brent.” (pg.132).

Thanks for listening...

TEXT TO SELF

This quote reminds me of myself, I always find it hard to admit my faults or emotions in difficult cases. I find it much easier to talk to someone I hardly know and admit what I really feel because even though we can be practical strangers, it’s still better saying what hurts aloud to someone, rather than keeping it hidden within.

Summary

Whirligig

By: Paul Fleischman

This quote refers to the theme because it shows how Brent didn’t know who he was at the beginning of the book, making it much harder for him after accidentally killing Lea, but after building the whirligigs he managed to move forward with his future and accept what he did.

Brent, the protagonist, moves to a new town in hope to make a good impression on his classmates, but when one thing leads to another, he gets into his car, intoxicated after a party, and kills a girl, Lea. He later goes on a journey of building whirligigs in the 4 corners of America to repay her parents and earns not only an ease in his guilt, but also discovers who he really is along the way.

INQUIRY QUESTION:

How does the influence of others impact our own lives?

Picture The Word #1

Picture The Word #2

Tirade (pg. 9) – to be angry, cause a temper

Synonym: diatribe

Whirligig (pg. 26) – something that whirls or revolves

Synonym: wind toy

“People are always in a group. Like that little wooden marching band… If the people in a group get along, maybe they could make good music instead of arguing” (pg. 62)

TEXT TO WORLD

This quote makes me think of all of the things we, like Brent with admitting his suicide, try to avoid. There are many things happening in our world, such as overconsumption (buying things we don’t need), racism, gender inequality, etc… and not a lot of people admit to what they’re doing or saying because they feel that if they do, there will be consequences which there’s no going back from.

Picture The Word #4

Picture The Word #3

This quote, stated by the unnamed Puerto Rican man, shows how at first, he only ever saw hate, war, and never liked the sight of it, but Brent influenced his opinion with his marching band whirligig (even though it was intended on just being Lea’s memorial) by showing him how not everyone in a group fight all the time, that even in the hardest times, they can make peace (and make good music as well).

Turmoil (pg. 34) – a state of great disturbance or confusion

Synonym: disorder

Paints can influence the colour of eachother if mixed together

To atone (pg. 38) – to do something right/make up for something

Synonym: make amends